India cannot march through the 21st century with the administrative systems of the 19th century, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, adding that there is a need to change laws, eliminate unnecessary procedures and speed up processes to go beyond “mere incremental progress”.
“If India is to meet the challenge of change, mere incremental progress is not enough. A metamorphosis is needed. That is why my vision for India is rapid transformation, not gradual evolution,” Mr. Modi said during the first event of the Transforming India Lecture series by Niti Aayog.
He pointed out that the transformation of India cannot happen without a transformation of governance, which in turn requires transformation in mindset. “A transformation in mindset cannot happen without transformative ideas,” he said.
Noting that we now live in an age where change is constant and "we are variables", the Prime Minister said we must change for both external and internal reasons.
“Thirty years ago, a country might have been able to look inward and find its own solutions. Today, countries are inter-dependent and inter-connected. No country can afford any longer to develop in isolation. Every country has to benchmark its activities to global standards, or else fall behind,” he said.
He further added that change is also necessary for internal reasons. “The younger generation in our own country is thinking and aspiring so differently, that government can no longer afford to remain rooted in the past,” the prime minister said.
The Prime Minister said unless we brainstorm collectively, ideas remain confined to individual minds. “We often hear of new ideas and understand them. But we do not act upon them, because it is beyond our individual capacity. If we sit together, we will have the collective force to convert ideas into action. What we need is a collective opening of our minds, to let in new, global perspectives. To do this, we have to absorb new ideas collectively rather than individually. It requires a concerted effort,” he said.
“This is the purpose of the Transforming India Lecture Series. It is a series which we will attend, not as individuals but as part of a team who can collectively make change happen,” he added.
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore will also be speaking at the event. The Lecture is being attended by the entire Modi Cabinet.
Bringing new ideas
“Fundamental changes in administrative mindsets usually occur through sudden shocks or crisis. India is fortunate to be a stable democratic polity. In the absence of such shocks, we have to make special efforts to force ourselves to make transformative changes. As individuals, we may absorb new ideas by reading books or articles. Books open the windows of our minds. However, unless we brainstorm collectively, ideas remain confined to individual minds,” he said.
Mr. Modi added that since taking office, he had participated in structured brainstorming sessions with bankers, police officers and Secretaries to the government, among others. The ideas coming from those sessions were now being incorporated into policy.
